Ramakien
Encyclopedia
The Ramakian is Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

's national epic
National epic
A national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic scope which seeks or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation; not necessarily a nation-state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group with aspirations to independence or autonomy...

, derived from the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 epic Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...

.

A number of versions of the epic were lost in the destruction of Ayutthaya
Ayutthaya (city)
Ayutthaya city is the capital of Ayutthaya province in Thailand. Located in the valley of the Chao Phraya River. The city was founded in 1350 by King U Thong, who went there to escape a smallpox outbreak in Lop Buri and proclaimed it the capital of his kingdom, often referred to as the Ayutthaya...

 in 1767. Three versions currently exist, one of which was prepared in 1797 under the supervision of (and partly written by) King Rama I. His son, Rama II
Buddha Loetla Nabhalai
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthramaha Isarasundhorn Phra Buddha Loetla Nabhalai , or Rama II , was the second monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1809-1824. In 1809, Isarasundhorn succeeded his father Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, the founder of Chakri dynasty, as Buddha Loetla Nabhalai...

, rewrote some parts of his father's version for khon drama. The work has had an important influence on Thai literature, art and drama (both the khon and nang
Nang drama
Nang yai is a form of shadow play found in Thailand. Puppets are made of buffalo hide, while the story is narrated by songs, chants and music....

 dramas being derived from it).

While the main story is identical to that of the Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...

, many other aspects were transposed into a Thai context, such as the clothes, weapons, topography, and elements of nature, which are described as being Thai in style. Although Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 is considered a Theravada Buddhist
Theravada
Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...

 society, the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

  mythology latent in the Ramakian serves to provide Thai legends with a creation myth, as well as representations of various spirits which complement beliefs derived from Thai animism
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....

.

A painted representation of the Ramakian is displayed at Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

's Wat Phra Kaew
Wat Phra Kaew
The Wat Phra Kaew is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. It is a "potent religio-political symbol and the palladium of Thai society". It is located in the historic centre of Bangkok , within the precincts of the Grand Palace.The main building is the central ubosoth, which...

, and many of the statues there depict characters from it.

From the Ramayana to the National Epic of Thailand

The Ramayana, holy revered text of Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

s, is believed by many archaeologists and historians to be a collection of stories from Hindu mythology concentrating on the work of the gods in the lives of men, and was first written down, as legend states, in the forests of India by Valmiki
Valmiki
Valmiki is celebrated as the poet harbinger in Sanskrit literature. He is the author of the epic Ramayana, based on the attribution in the text of the epic itself. He is revered as the Adi Kavi, which means First Poet, for he discovered the first śloka i.e...

 in the fourth century BC. There are several holy sites in India that point to the reality of Rama's existence, including his birthplace, his palace, and the route of his journey to Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, the Ramayana came to Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

 by means of Tamil
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...

 Indian traders and scholars who traded with the Khmer kingdoms (such as Funan and Angkor
Angkor
Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara , meaning "city"...

) and Srivijaya
Srivijaya
Srivijaya was a powerful ancient thalassocratic Malay empire based on the island of Sumatra, modern day Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. The earliest solid proof of its existence dates from the 7th century; a Chinese monk, I-Tsing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 for 6...

, with whom the Indians shared close economic and cultural ties.

In the late first millennium, the epic was adopted by the Thai people. The oldest recordings of the early Sukhothai kingdom
Sukhothai kingdom
The Sukhothai Kingdom ) was an early kingdom in the area around the city Sukhothai, in north central Thailand. The Kingdom existed from 1238 till 1438...

, dating from the thirteenth century, include stories from the Ramayana legends. The history of the legends was told in the shade theater (Thai: หนัง, Nang), a shadow-puppet show
Wayang
Wayang is a Javanese word for theatre . When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang...

 in a style adopted from Indonesia, in which the characters were portrayed by leather dolls manipulated to cast shadows on a nearby screen while the spectators watched from the other side.

The Thai version of the legends were first written down in the eighteenth century, during the Ayutthaya kingdom
Ayutthaya kingdom
Ayutthaya was a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Chinese, Vietnamese , Indians, Japanese and Persians, and later the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and French, permitting them to set up villages outside the walls of the...

, following the demise of the Sukhothai government. Most editions, however, were lost when the city of Ayutthaya was destroyed by armies from Burma (modern Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....

) in the year 1767.

The version recognized today was compiled in the kingdom of Siam under the supervision of King Rama I (1736–1809), the founder of the Chakri dynasty, which still maintains the throne of Thailand. Between the years of 1797 and 1807, Rama I supervised the writing of the well-known edition and even wrote parts of it. It was also under the reign of Rama I that construction began on the Thai Grand Palace in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

, which includes the grounds of the Wat Pra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha
Emerald Buddha
The Emerald Buddha is the palladium of the Kingdom of Thailand, a figurine of the sitting Buddha, made of green jadeite , clothed in gold, and about 45 cm tall...

. The walls of the Wat Pra Kaew are lavishly decorated with paintings representing stories from the Ramakian.

Rama II (1766–1824) further adapted his father's edition of the Ramakian for the khon drama, a form of theater performed by non-speaking Thai dancers with elaborate costumes and masks. Narrations from the Ramakian were read by a chorus to one side of the stage. This version differs slightly from the one compiled by Rama I, giving an expanded role to Hanuman
Hanuman
Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...

, the god-king of the apes, and adding a happy ending
Happy ending
A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which almost everything turns out for the best for the protagonists, their sidekicks, and almost everyone except the villains....

.

Since its introduction to the Thai people, the Ramakian has become a firm component of the culture. The Ramakian of Rama I is considered one of the masterpieces of Thai literature. It is still read, and is taught in the country's schools.

In 1989, Satyavrat Shastri translated the Ramakien into a Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 epic poem (mahakavya
Mahakavya
Mahākāvya , also known as sargabandha, is a genre of Indian epic poetry in classical Sanskrit literature. The genre is characterised by ornate and elaborate descriptions of scenery, love, battles and so on — in short, everything that tests a poet's skill at description...

) named Ramakirtimahakavyam, in 25 sargas (cantos) and about 1200 stanzas in 14 metres. This work won 11 national and international awards.

Contents of the Ramakien

The tales of the Ramakian are similar to those of the Ramayana, though transferred to the topography and culture of Ayutthaya, where the Avatar
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....

 of Pra Narai (the Thai incarnation of Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

, who's also known as Narayan
Narayan
Narayan may refer to:*Narayana, an Indian name, an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu*Narayanan, an Indian name*Narain, an Indian name- People :*Aditya Narayan, Indian television show host*Anand Narayan, Indian television personality...

) is reborn as Pra Ram.

Gods

  • Phra Narai/Witsanu (Narayana
    Narayana
    Narayana or Narayan or Naraina is an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu, and in many contemporary vernaculars a common Indian name. Narayana is also identified as the original man, Purusha. The Puranas present divergent views on Narayana...

    /Vishnu
    Vishnu
    Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

    )
  • Phra Isuan/Siwa (Isvara/Shiva
    Shiva
    Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

    )
  • Phra Phrom (Brahma
    Brahma
    Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...

    ) - altogether with Phra Isuan and Phra Narai, forms the Hindu Trinity.
  • Phra Uma-thewi (Uma/Parvati
    Parvati
    Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...

    ) - Consort of Phra Isuan
  • Phra Laksami (Lakshmi
    Lakshmi
    Lakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments...

    ) - Consort of Phra Narai
  • Phra In (Indra
    Indra
    ' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

    ) - The King of thevadas- lesser celestial deities. Father of Pali
  • Mali Warat - God of Justice. Grandfather of Thotsakan
  • Phra A-thit (Aditya
    Surya
    Surya Suraya or Phra Athit is the chief solar deity in Hinduism, one of the Adityas, son of Kasyapa and one of his wives, Aditi; of Indra; or of Dyaus Pitar . The term Surya also refers to the Sun, in general. Surya has hair and arms of gold...

     or Surya
    Surya
    Surya Suraya or Phra Athit is the chief solar deity in Hinduism, one of the Adityas, son of Kasyapa and one of his wives, Aditi; of Indra; or of Dyaus Pitar . The term Surya also refers to the Sun, in general. Surya has hair and arms of gold...

    ) - the solar deity. Father of Sukreep
  • Phra Phai (Vayu
    Vayu
    Vāyu is a primary Hindu deity, the Lord of the winds, the father of Bhima and the spiritual father of Lord Hanuman...

    ) - the wind deity. Father of Hanuman
  • Phra Witsawakam/Witsanukam (Vishvakarman
    Vishvakarman
    Viśvákarma is the Hindu presiding deity of all craftsmen and architects...

    ) - the artisan god, responsible for rebuilding Lanka after Hanuman burned it down and creating Khitkhin

Human

  • Phra Ram (Rama
    Rama
    Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

    ) - The son of the king Tosarot of Ayutthaya and the Incarnation of Pra Narai.
  • Nang Sida (Sita
    SITA
    SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...

    ) - The wife of Pra Ram, who embodies purity and fidelity. Incarnation of Nang Lakshmi
  • Phra Lak (Lakshman), Pra Phrot (Bharata
    Bharata (Ramayana)
    In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Bharata was the second brother of the main protagonist Rama, and the son of Dasaratha and Kaikeyi. Dasaratha was the Emperor of Ayodhya and belonged to the Suryavansha or Solar Dynasty...

    ) and Pra Satrut (Shatrughna
    Shatrughna
    Shatrughna was the youngest brother of Lord Rama in the Hindu epic Ramayana . He is the twin brother of Lakshmana.-Birth and family:...

    ) - half-brothers of Pra Ram, who represent the reincarnated possessions of Pra Narai
  • Thotsarot (Dasaratha
    Dasaratha
    Dasharatha was a king of Ayodhya of the Ikshvaku dynasty whose life story is narrated principally in the Hindu epic Ramayana...

    ) -often called Thao Tosarot. King of Ayutthaya and father of Pra Ram and his brothers
  • Nang Kaosuriya (Kausalya
    Kausalya
    Kausalya in the Indian Rāmāyaṇa epic was the eldest of King Daśaratha's three wives and a queen of Ayodhyā, she was the daughter of the King of the Kosala Kingdom. She was the mother of Rama, the king of Ayodhya, upon whom the story of the Ramayana is based....

    ) - one of the three wives of Tosarot, mother of Pra Ram
  • Nang Kaiyakesi (Kaikeyi
    Kaikeyi
    Kaikeyi , in the Hindu epic Rāmāyaṇa, was the second of King Daśaratha's three wives and a queen of Ayodhyā. She was the mother of Bharata...

    ) - one of the three wives of Tosarot, mother of Pra Phrot
  • Nang Samut-thewi (Sumitra
    Sumitra
    Sumitra in the Indian Ramayana epic, was the third of King Dasaratha's three wives and a queen of Ayodhyā. She was the mother of twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna. She came from the ancient kingdom of Kashi. She was supposed to be the wisest of the wives of Dasaratha. She was the one to first...

    ) - one of the three wives of Tosarot, mother of Pra Laks and Pra Satrut

Friends of Phra Ram

  • Hanuman
    Hanuman
    Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...

     - God-king of the apes, who supported Pra Ram and acted as the monkey general.
  • Pali Thirat (Vali
    Vali (Ramayana)
    In the Hindu epic Ramayana, the vanara Vali , also known as Bali , , , Yuan: Bari, , Lao: Palichan) was king of Kishkindha, a son of Indra and the elder brother of Sugriva...

    ) - King of Kitkin, elder brother of Sukreep and uncle of Hanuman
  • Sukreep (Sugriva
    Sugriva
    In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Sugriva , also spelled Sugreeva or Sugreev, was the younger brother of Bali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara or monkey kingdom Kishkindha. Ruma was his wife. He was the son of Surya, the Hindu deity of the sun...

    ) - Viceroy of Kitkin, younger brother of Pali and uncle of Hanuman
  • Ongkot (Angada
    Angada
    Angada , in the Indian Ramayana epic, is a vanara who helped Rama find his wife Sita and fight her abductor, Ravana. He was the son of Bali and Tara and the nephew of Sugriva. Angada and Tara are instrumental in reconciling Rama and his brother, Lakshmana, with Sugriva after Sugriva fails to...

    ) - Ape-prince and son of the Pali Thirat and Nang Montho, cousin of Hanuman
  • Phiphek (Vibhishana
    Vibhishana
    Vibhishana or Bibhishan is a character in the epic Ramayana. He was the younger brother of the demon Ravana. Though a half-demon himself, Vibhishana was of a noble character and advised Ravana, who kidnapped and abducted Sita, to return her to her husband Rama in an orderly fashion...

    ) - enstranged brother of Thotsakan. He is an excellent astrologist and provided valuable information to Phra Ram in defeating Thotsakan.
  • Chomphuphan (Jambavan) - Ape-prince and adopted son of Pali, an expert in the healing arts and acted as the troop's medic.

Opponents of Pra Ram

  • Thotsakan (Ravana
    Ravana
    ' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...

    , from dashakantha) - King of the Demons of Lanka and strongest of Phra Ram's adversaries. Thotsakan has ten faces and twenty arms, and possesses a myriad of weapons.
  • Intharachit (Indrajit
    Indrajit
    Indrajit or Meghanatha , a warrior mentioned in the Indian epic Ramayana, was the son of the Lankan king Ravana. The word 'Indrajit' literally means the 'conqueror of Indra '....

    ) - A son of Thotsakan. Phra Ram's second most powerful adversaries. Intharachit uses his bow more than any other weapon. He once fired arrows (Nagabat Arrows) which turned into Nagas (or snakes) in mid-air and rained down on Phra Ram's army. He once had a blessing from the Phra Isuan that he shall not die on land but in the air, and if his decapitated head were to touch the ground, it will bring down great destruction.
  • Kumphakan (Kumbhakarna
    Kumbhakarna
    Kumbhakarna , is a rakshasa and brother of Ravana in the Indian Ramayana epic...

    ) - brother of Thotsakan and commander of demonic forces
  • Maiyarap - King of the Underworld, embodied as a donkey
  • Thoot (Dushana), Korn (Khara
    Khara
    Khara can refer to* Khara, a character in the ancient Sanskrit epic the Ramayana* Khara-Khoto, the ruins of a medivial city in western Mongolia* Khara, Punjab - town in Punjab, India.* Khara, Nepal* Khara, Punjab - town in Punjab, Pakistan....

    ), Trisian (Trishira
    Trishira
    Trishira or Trisiras ไทย : ตรีเศียร, that is, one having three heads, was an asura , and reference to him is found in the Ramayana. He was one of the seven sons of Ravana, and his other brothers were Indrajit, Prahasta, Atikaya, Akshayakumara, Devantaka and Narantaka.He engaged Rama in a fight and...

    ) - younger brothers and sons of Thotsakan, and the first three to be killed by Phra Ram, in that order.

See also

  • Ramayana
    Ramayana
    The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...

  • Kakawin Ramayana
  • Reamker
    Reamker
    Reamker is a Cambodian epic poem, based on the Sanskrit's Ramayana epic. The name means "Glory of Rama". It adapts the Hindu ideas to Buddhist themes and shows the balance of good and evil in the world. More than just a reordering of the epic tale, the Reamker is a mainstay of the royal ballet's...

  • Phra Lak Phra Lam
    Phra Lak Phra Lam
    Phra Lak Phra Lam is the national epic of the Lao people, and is adapted from Valmiki's Hindu epic, the Ramayana. Similar to some Malay versions of the Hikayat Seri Rama, the epic has lost the association with Hinduism and is instead considered a Jataka Story, a previous lifetime of the Buddha...

  • Hikayat Seri Rama
    Hikayat Seri Rama
    Hikayat Seri Rama is the Malay literary adaptation of the Hindu Ramayana epic. The main story remains the same as the original Sanskrit version but some aspects of it were slightly modified to a local context such as the spelling and pronunciation of names...

  • Yama Zatdaw
    Yama Zatdaw
    Yama Zatdaw , unofficially Myanmar's national epic, is the Burmese version of the Ramayana. There are nine known pieces of the Yama Zatdaw in Myanmar...

  • Pra Satrut
    Pra Satrut
    Pra Satrut is one of the Siblings of Pra Ram in the Thai Ramakian Epic tale, which is in turn an adaptation of India's great Vedic Epic by the Hermit Valmiki, the Ramayana. The four brothers are; Pra Ram, Pra Laks, Pra Prot and Pra Satrut...

  • Buddha Magic

Further reading

  • Thai Ramayana (abridged) as written by King Rama I, ISBN 974-7390-18-3
  • The story of Ramakian - From the Mural Paintings along the Galleries of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, ISBN 974-7588-35-8

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK